Philosophies of Politics

Naturally, such deep ideas are not coming from my head... not yet anyway. Today's inauguration ceremonies reminded me that I wanted to post these quotes Dr. Forbes compiled for the Election Forum we had last fall. He entitled the page "Miscellaneous Thoughts to Ponder".

The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all in their separate and individual capacities. (Abraham Lincoln)

Politics has got so expensive that it takes a lot of money to even get beat with. (Will Rogers)

It makes no difference who you vote for - the two parties are really one party representing four percent of the people. (Gore Vidal)

There are some politicians who, if their constituents were cannibals, would promise them missionaries for dinner. (H. L. Mencken)

An elected official is the one who gets 51 percent of the vote cast by 40 percent of the 60 percent of voters who registered. (Dan Bennet)

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. (Oscar Ameringer)

Government is too big and important to be left to the politicians. (Chester Bowles)

Practical politics consists in ignoring facts. (Henry Adams)

An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, stays bought. (Simon Cameron)

Political campaigns are designedly made into emotional orgies which endeavor to distract attention from the real issues involved, and they actually paralyze what slight powers of cerebration man can normally muster. (James Harvey Robinson)

The justification of the majority rule is not to be found in its ethical superiority. (Walter Lippmann)

Many people consider the things which government does for them to be social progress, but they consider the things government does for others to be socialism. (Chief Justice Earl Warren)

The difference between a politician and a statesman is: a politician thinks of the next election and a statesman thinks of the next generation. (James Freeman Clarke)

Government in the US today is a senior partner in every business in the country. (Norman Cousins)

The short memories of American voters are what keep our politicians in office. (Will Rogers)

When one may pay out millions of dollars to presidential and congressional campaigns, the US Government is virtually up for sale. (John Gardner)

Voters quickly forget what a man says. (Richard Nixon)

And where are the others that might have stood, side by your side in the common good? (Maurice Ogden)


In no way intended to refer to this election particularly. Good thoughts are always worth pondering.